DOING THEIR BEST- Bottom row, from left: Annie Reznik, Kyle Warner, Sami Staitman, Brianna Wenger, Sarah Staitman and Erin Ticktin. Middle row: Michael Kennedy, Gabi Ditto, Tricia Tanguy (narrator), Meagan Chew and Victoria Sieverson. Top row: Josh Ditto, Ben Gutierrez, Daniel Moser (guard/Levi), Will Cohen (baker/Napthali), Clarissa Barr and Kurt Kemper. Fourteen youngsters from Conejo Players Children's Theatre got the thrill of a lifetime when they were invited to perform in Theater League's production of "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat" at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza last week.

Theater League is on the second leg of a seven-city tour and is using children from local community theater groups to augment its professional cast.

"Joseph" was an early work by the soon-to-be-legendary team of composer Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyricist Tim Rice. Originally staged at a British prep school in 1968, "Joseph" has gone on to become one of the most popular of the team's hit Broadway musicals.

An innovative musical for its time, "Joseph" is an updating of the biblical tale from the book of Genesis, adapted for modern audiences by including anachronistic music, dialogue and costumes. A delight from start to finish, the score features some of Lloyd Webber's most memorable and catchy melodies, performed in a dizzying variety of musical styles, including '50s rock, vaudeville, calypso and even French cabaret.

The children's choir is used as a framework for the story, which is told to them by an onstage narrator who interacts with the performers throughout the show. The 14 lucky youngsters were selected by Conejo Players' executive producer, Shawn Lanz, working with music director Linda Stiegler and choreographers Arryck Adams and Tami Keaton.

In order to learn their parts, the kids, mostly ages 11 to 14, were sent a packet consisting of staging diagrams, blocking instructions, music and a DVD of the show. After eight two-hour rehearsals, they were ready when the Theater League troop arrived in town the day of the premiere.

Each of the youngsters has had experience performing in Conejo Players' regular productions. Clarissa Barr, 13, an eighthgrade student at Redwood Middle School, recognized the difference between the volunteer productions she'd been used to and the professional touring unit.

"With Conejo Players we mostly just had fun, but for this we had to take it more seriously," she said. To prepare for the show, Clarissa watched the 1999 film version of "Joseph" starring Donny Osmond. Her dream of becoming an actress certainly got a boost with her work on the current show.

Sisters Sarah and Sami Staitman are already young stage veterans, having performed in such productions as "The King and I" and "Singin' in the Rain."

"We held practices at our house," Sarah said.

For costumes, the children were told to wear mostly light, bland colors, like white, gray and beige. "Joseph has all the bright colors," said Erin Ticktin, 11, who's performed in shows such as "Alice in Wonderland Jr." and "Once on This Island."

On Tuesday afternoon, Erin, Sarah, Sami and the others were put through their paces by Theater League dance captain Jen Jenkins, who also played two roles in the musical. Since they'd already learned the songs, the kids were taught entrances and cues and "how to walk Egyptian."

Helping Jenkins out were the two stars of the show: Ross Lekites (Joseph) and Tricia Tanguy (Narrator). Watching the children working with Jenkins, Tanguy was reminded of the time when she was a 12-year-old performing in the children's choir with a touring company of "Joseph" in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. "Now, I've come full circle," she said.

Unfortunately, the show didn't have the usual highquality production values Theater League has become known for. Although the original musical calls for the children's choir to be on the set throughout most of the show, the young players only made a few brief walk-on appearances.

In addition, the usually ornate sets and colorful costumes were replaced by disappointingly spare equivalents, with illustrated backdrops replacing standing sets such as the pharaoh's palace and the French cabaret.

The performances, especially those by Lekites and Tanguy, were excellent, although scenes like the psychedelic free-for-all dance that closes the first act ("Go, Go, Go, Joseph") were decidedly underwhelming.

Having seen more elaborate productions of "Joseph" (including the spectacular version put on by Cabrillo Music Theatre a few years ago), one wonders whether the nationwide economic crisis is hitting Theater League's production budget.